Rough Drafts
ROUGH DRAFTS
By Design Series: Episode Four
J.A. Armstrong
Text © Copyright 2015 J.A. Armstrong Books
All Rights Reserved. This book, or parts
thereof
, may not be reproduced without
permission.
February 23rd
Jameson Reid took a
deep breath and exhaled it slowly. She exited the car, looked at the building
that stood a few yards in front of her, and bowed her head thoughtfully.
“J.D.,” Maureen Reid
called gently to her daughter. “You’re doing a good thing here.”
“I know,” Jameson
replied. “Just…walking in there is so hard. Why is it so hard?” she asked.
Maureen smiled and
wrapped an arm around her daughter’s shoulder. “Because it means facing
demons,” she said softly. “And, it means letting go of the past.”
Jameson nodded and
pushed back her tears. She looked ahead again, grabbed the duffel bag beside
her and began a purposeful stride forward.
***
“It’s not that I don’t
support the idea or the legislation. It’s that the legislation doesn’t have the
support,” Candace Reid said.
“Candy, you have the
clout to…”
Candace held up her
hand. “Oh no, no. The Pope doesn’t have that much
clout
with God. I sure as hell do not have that much sway in the
Senate
,” she told her friend. “I appreciate
your vote of confidence, Mr. President. As much as I would love to see this
initiative gain
momentum, it’s not in my nature
to...”
“Blow smoke up my
ass?” President Wallace
guessed
with a
chuckle.
“I was going to use a
less colorful analogy, but that works,” Candace laughed just as her phone
beeped. “Excuse me,” Candace apologized to the president as she picked up the
receiver. “Yes, Susan, what is it?” she asked with strained politeness.
“I’m sorry, Senator.
Mr. Singleton is out here. He’s…well, he is adamant about seeing you
immediately,” Susan whispered into the phone. She looked at the flustered man
pacing a few feet away and cringed.
“And, did you tell
Gollum that I am in a meeting with the president?”
Susan tried not to
laugh. “No. I thought he might surmise that by the Secret Service presence out
here, but frankly he seems distracted,” Susan said in a hushed voice just as
Jason Singleton turned to face her. Candace’s campaign manager served as a
constant source of both amusement and irritation for everyone in the senator’s
life. Interrupting a meeting of this nature was not going to prove in his
interest and Susan knew it.
“Well, we can’t have
that now, can we? Send him in, Susan.”
“Uhhh…Are you sure you
want me to…”
“President Wallace and
I were just wrapping up,” Candace said.
“Should I warn him who
is in there?” Susan asked as quietly as she could manage as Jason began to pace
about the room again.
A sly smile crept onto
Candace’s face. “Oh, no. Let’s give him a surprise, shall we? Give me just a
moment and then you send him right on in,” Candace said.
“Problem?” President
Wallace asked.
“I certainly hope
not,” Candace said.
“Gollum?” the
president asked curiously.
Candace snickered.
“Jameson’s nickname for Jason,” she explained.
The president laughed.
Candace joined him. She and Donald Wallace had been friends for many years. It
was a relationship that both valued in and out of the political circus tent.
Senator Donald Wallace had been one of the first people to step up and stand
shoulder to shoulder with Candace when she first made the decision to come out
publicly as a lesbian. Senator Candace Fletcher had been among the first
staunch supporters of the president’s candidacy and campaign. Out of the
spotlight, the two shared
a number of
passions besides politics. Those included people, baseball, and an excellent
glass of scotch. President Wallace had met Jameson several times. Jameson may
not have been aware of her charm. Candace was and she loved the fact that her
wife was unassuming and unaware. It made Jameson all the more lovable to
Candace. She’d enjoyed watching her wife win over both her allies and her adversaries
quietly. The president had been no exception.
“J.D. nailed that
one,” he said. Candace rolled her eyes playfully as the door to her office flew
open.
“We have got to talk,”
Jason said urgently.
Candace looked at the
president whose back was still turned to her campaign manager. She suppressed a
smirk and lifted her eyes back to the flustered man approaching her desk.
“Jason,” she greeted him evenly. “What is so pressing that you felt you needed
to interrupt my meeting?” Candace asked. She allowed her eyes to drift slightly
to the president. President Wallace understood the subtle cue and began to turn
slowly in his chair.
“I think you will
agree this trumps whatever meeting you are,” Jason’s thought dropped abruptly
when the president’s amused eyes met his. “Uh, Mr. President. I’m sorry. I had
no idea,” he stammered. “This is…perhaps it should wait until the president
leaves.”
Candace lifted her
brow. “Why is that? I don’t have any secrets to hide. What is it? Some
nefarious
Republican
plot to derail me?”
she asked. “President Wallace can handle that. So, let’s have it.”
“I…I really think that
we should discuss this in private.”
Candace nodded her
understanding and then looked directly at her campaign manager. “Last I
checked, you worked for me. So, let’s have this earth shattering news of
yours.”
Jason’s temples
twitched nervously. “It’s about Jameson,” he said hesitantly. Candace raised
her eyebrow a bit higher to implore him. “I…”
“Now, Jason,” Candace
demanded.
***
“J.D.!” Scott Drummond
picked up his pace to envelop Jameson in a hug. “It’s so good to see you.”
“Scott,” Jameson
choked out the name. “It’s good to see you too. Sorry, it has taken me so long.
I hope it’s not too late for me to take you up on that offer.”
Scott Drummond stood
almost a full head taller than Jameson. His thick black hair contrasted with
the twinkle in his bright blue eyes. He stepped back and smiled at his old
friend. “J.D., it’s never too late,” he told her.
***
“Okay, Jason. Out with
it,” Candace repeated her demand. She watched as her campaign manager shifted
his weight from foot to foot.
President Wallace
turned to her and winked. “I have to be going anyway, so you will have your
privacy. Believe me, I am intrigued,” he moved to face Jason. Jason’s face
flushed slightly. President Wallace chuckled softly as Candace came around her
desk to bid him farewell. He put his arms around her and whispered in her ear.
“If you kill him, make sure you hide all the pieces. I need you in New York,”
he told her.
Candace snickered.
“Nah, I’ll just maim him temporarily,” she escorted him toward to office door
The president pulled
back. “I’ll be in touch,” he said. Candace nodded. He turned to Jason. “Jason,”
he said as he extended his hand. “I hope to see you soon,” the president
coughed slightly. Jason nodded and swallowed hard as the president held his
gaze. Candace shook her head at the president in amusement. “Tell J.D. I look
forward to that golf game she promised me,” he reminded Candace.
“I’ll see that her
secretary schedules it soon,” Candace winked at him as he left. She closed the
door softly and turned back toward the man waiting for her attention.
“I didn’t know,” Jason
began to mount his defense.
Candace remained
stoic. “So? What is it? Are you here to tell me Jameson is really a covert
spy?” Candace asked sarcastically.
Jason bristled. “Did
you know?” he asked the senator pointedly.
“Know what?” Candace
inquired. “That Jameson is a spy?” she asked.
“This isn’t funny
Candace. You are telling me you have no idea about Jameson’s issues?”
“What the hell are you
talking about, Jason? Is there a point to this?”
Jason pulled a manila
envelope from his
briefcase
and passed it
to Candace. Candace opened it and shrugged. “Well?” he asked her.
“Am I supposed to be
upset that Jameson is out with her mother?” Candace wondered.
“Out with her mother?”
Jason repeated the question. Candace looked at him for an answer. “Those came
to me via email a short while ago.”
“And?”
“And? And, Jameson’s
mother drove her to a drug rehab in Ithaca. A rehab her cousin just happened to
check into some years ago apparently,” Jason said harshly. Candace stared at
him for a long moment. “Did you hear me?”
Candace took a deep
breath and let it out slowly. “I heard you.”
“Well?” he asked.
“Well, what?”
“Candace! Are you
telling me you knew about this?” he asked her harshly.
Candace sat down in a
chair and crossed her legs casually. “Of course, I know about it. She is my
wife.”
“You might have wanted
to mention her addiction issue at some point,” Jason said pointedly. Candace
started laughing. “Something amusing?” he asked her.
“Well, I may have
underestimated your zeal, Jason. It appears I also underestimated your
intelligence.”
“Excuse me? I’m not
the one checking into a rehab! Jesus! Do you have any idea what this could do
to your chances? My intelligence? How could you possibly think you could hide
that? For Christ’s sake, Candace you might as well have checked her into Betty
Ford!”
Candace shook her head
and groaned. “You assume that Jameson is in need of some help,” she surmised.
“What? Are you trying
suggest that we deny it? It’s right there. Look at the pictures!” he argued.
“I saw them.”
“Are we looking at the
same thing?” he wondered.
“Yes, we are. You,
however, have come to your own conclusion. One, I might add that questions my
integrity,” she said bluntly.
“What are you talking
about? This isn’t about
your
integrity, Candace. You should have told me.”
Candace pursed her
lips thoughtfully and nodded. She let an uncomfortable silence linger for a few
moments before addressing the man before her. There had been more than a few
instances in the past few months when Jason had overstepped his boundaries. The
first, as Jameson had predicted, was over Candace’s decision to take Jameson’s
last name. Jason had made the extremely foolish judgment that Jameson had
pushed Candace into the decision. Candace had hoped that her directness with
her campaign manager over his misconception would have reigned him in. Thus
far, Jameson had made
good
fun out of
Jason’s interferences. Jameson avoided him when she could, and poked fun at
what she regarded as his “slithery” nature by
coining
him Gollum. What Jason still seemed to fail miserably to comprehend, was that
Candace took no offense to questions about her political decisions, or even
with regard to her professional demeanor. Questioning Candace’s family or her
wife, however, was akin to killing a sacred cow. The fact that Jason was
standing in front of her making any assumption or judgment about Jameson was
the final straw for Candace Reid.
Calmly, Candace began
to speak. “You seem to have missed some important memos, Jason. Demanding to
see me, interrupting an important private meeting…”
“I didn’t know,” he
began to protest.
The obvious
displeasure in Candace’s glance was enough to stop him. “It doesn’t matter
who
I was meeting with. That is hardly
the point. You walk into my office and make accusations about my wife—you most
certainly are questioning my integrity.”
“I…”
“I’m not finished,”
Candace warned him. “I’m not, but you are.”
“Candace, be
reasonable! I understand…”
“You
understand
very
little
from where I am sitting. Jameson is my wife, Jason.
I’m
not sure that you comprehend what that
means.”
“Of course, I do! You
also have a responsibility to…”
“I have many
responsibilities. I told you when we began this campaign that nothing came
before
my family, did I not?”
“Yes, but your
family’s behavior…”
Candace shook her head
and groaned. “That’s enough. This conversation is over.”
“Candace, we need to
address this,” he argued.
“
We
don’t need to
address
a
thing.”
“Like it or not,
people will want an explanation. They are going to leak this. You know…”
Candace shrugged. “Candace! Devotion is one thing, blind devotion…”
“Enough!” Candace
raised her voice
“How can you say we
are not going to address…”
Candace took a deep
breath. “We are not addressing anything because there is no we in this equation
any longer.”
“What are you talking
about?” he asked in frustration.
“Devotion and trust
are everything, Jason. I don’t only mean in a marriage. They are the
cornerstones of any lasting relationship. Break them down and you have nothing.
I learned those lessons the hard way. Now, you are getting the benefit of my
experience in the form of what I hope will be a meaningful lesson,” Candace
said in what was almost a motherly tone. She sighed and shook her head. “You
are relieved of your position, Jason. I appreciate the work you’ve done. I
cannot have someone in my camp that does not respect me.”